One of the things Andy Cohen is really looking forward to in the New Year is the return of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
He’s been anticipating RHOA Season 16 for quite a while now. On a February 2024 episode of Watch What Happens Live, he announced the impending return of Porsha Williams.
“It’s time for my Mazel of the day,” he gushed during the closing moments of the show. “It goes to the news — this is so good — that Porsha will be making her triumphant return to The Real Housewives of Atlanta. This is such a huge moment.”
Porsha and Phaedra are both returning to RHOA
On December 11, The Daily Dish caught up with Andy, and he explained just why he’s so giddy about RHOA.
“I’m really excited about The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” he said. “I think people have been waiting a long time to see what we’ve done. We’ve got great new housewives. We’ve got the return of Porsha, we’ve got the return of Phaedra [Parks]. Shamea [Morton Mwangi] is a full housewife. I mean, she’s someone that we’ve been seeing for years and years, but seeing her in this way is totally a breath of fresh air.”
Porsha left the show of her own accord following Season 13, after spending eight seasons as a Housewife. Phaedra, on the other hand, was fired after Season 8 for spreading a lascivious (and false) rumor about cast member Kandi Burruss.
In addition to Shamea’s promotion from “Friend of” to full-fledged Housewife, Season 16 will see the debut of three brand-new cast members. Newbies Brittany Eady, Kelli Ferrell, and Angela Oakley are joining the cast.
Cynthia Bailey is also returning as a “Friend of” the cast and says Phaedra wasted no time reclaiming her peach.
Porsha felt “like a rookie” returning to RHOA
At Bravo Fan Fest in November, Porsha told People it was an adjustment returning to the show after being away for so long.
“The first day of filming, I kid you not, I felt like a rookie,” she shared. “It took me a minute to recalibrate and make the cameras invisible again.”
She was also quick to establish some boundaries regarding discussing her divorce from Simon Guobadia with certain castmates.
“I really got into therapy,” she said, “and a big part of therapy was [the therapist] suggesting self-preservation. [That’s] hard to do when you’re in an ensemble cast and you have to speak about your life … Just kind of, like, being and protecting myself, [while] being with everyone else has been a good thing for me.”
It’ll be good to see Frick & Frack together again.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta is currently streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING PHAEDRA AND PORSHA REJOIN THE CAST? WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY’LL ADD TO RHOA SEASON 16?
